It's the middle of August, and high time to get some summer cruising done, so we're cutting loose from the boatyard today! Most of the refit has been completed (separate post coming), and the last big items, including mounting a wind generator on the mizzen mast, won't be ready to tackle for at least a week. We're taking advantage of this project gap to do a little venturing Down East.
Sue has been reading A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, which is a great resource for where to go, where to anchor or pick up a mooring, and what services are available at each harbor, town, or island. We'll head first into Muscongus Bay, the next bay to our east, where we plan to anchor between Harbor and Hall Island and maybe dinghy across to Otter Island if the seas are friendly. Enormous and intriguing Penobscot Bay is next, with the fancy Fox Islands Thorofare (between North Haven and Vinalhaven) and many remote islands and harbors and hideaway spots to discover and explore. Beyond Penobscot Bay lies famous Mount Desert Island – whether we make it that far or not depends on the vagaries of weather, equipment, and how much fun we have where we do happen to find ourselves.
As we prepare to depart on this rainy Maine-y morning, we sprout a few more leaks. At least they are fresh water rather than salt. (Water from above is a nuisance; water from below is dangerous.) Ah, boat ownership. "We said we wanted the cruising lifestyle, not the cruising vacation, didn't we?" asks Sue as she mops up a long puddle in a galley cabinet. Curtis nods as he places our five-quart soup pot next to the companionway beneath the drippy old dodger. Going forward, our twin goals are to keep the boat in the water and the water out of the boat...and to have some fun.
